Living in Shade

I came across a very saddening story from over in Manchester, England. Its the tale of Nick Hobin. Nick was a 32 year old fair skinned man who its said stayed away from the sun whenever possible. Yet the young father, still passed away earlier this month from melanoma.

The article from the Manchester Evening News entitled “Skin Cancer Kills Dad Who Never Sunbathed” talks about this tragic turn of events. Nick it says was very fair skinned, with a pale complexion and red hair. He recognized that this put him at an increased risk for skin cancer, and according to his wife did everything possible to keep himself away from the sun’s harmful UV rays.

“He was so careful because he had red hair and very pale skin – he never sunbathed, he was really careful to stay in the shade and he would cover himself in towels to protect his skin.

“I was always the one sitting by the pool and he would be inside our hotel room watching TV. He came on holiday for the social life, not the sun – it seems so unfair that he got skin cancer.

“When we were at the airport going home I would be tanned and he would be totally white and we would joke that we had just met.

“I can’t believe he has gone but now he has I want to warn other people to use sun screen, to stay out of the sun, to protect themselves and the people they love. Skin cancer has destroyed my family and I don’t want it to destroy any more lives.”

This case shows just how scary the problem of skin cancer is. Now I’m certainly not asking anyone to be a hermit and live in a bubble, exposure to the sun is something that is unavoidable and we just have to learn to exist in harmony.

Nick ended up having 3 operations in an attempt to remove the cancer from his body. Initially doctors thought they had been successful in removing the cancer. Unfortunately, they were wrong and the cancer eventually spread to his brain. Earlier this month, Nick passed away at the tender age of 32.

Nick’s case is tragic and I feel deeply saddened by the pain that his family is going through now. Its true that people with fair skin and a pale complexion are the most successetable to skin cancer, but that it something that’s not under your control. There’s no need to waste energy concentrating on things that you can not change. That energy should be better spent on things you can change.

The advice is to just be vigilant about your time spent out in the sun. Apply sunscreen whenever you can and try to plan activities so they are not during the midday hours when the sun’s rays are at their strongest. I’m a big fan of the beach, but I like to get their early and then take off for lunch. That way you avoid the most dangerous time.

You also can not forget about the areas of your body that sunscreen might not get. Protective clothing is fantastic if you plan on engaging in outdoor activity or if your job insists on it. Sunglasses are extremely important as well, its a definite must to protect your eyes.

All the advice is basically the same, it really hasn’t changed much since as far back as I can remember. People just need to remember to follow it. A minor inconvenience is nothing compared to the possible negative ramifications. Cases like Nick from Manchester’s are tragic, and much more common than you might think. With certain precautions taken though anyone can lead a very active outdoor lifestyle and give themselves the best chance at never having to deal with any of the horrible negative consequences.